Customer Reviews

No Lights, No Sirens : The Corruption and Redemption of an Inner City Cop

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I just finished reading No Lights No Sirens. I was rocked into the reality of hell that the author lived through and the people he had to deal with every day had to live through as well. The author made me feel as if I were there voyeristically watching something I definitely should not be witnessing. I read it in two nights, something I would not advise another reader to do, as in any horrific true crime book, it gave me chills and nightmares. The dialogue and prose was so conversational it didn't feel like I was reading, but listening and watching a very noir like film. I absolutely was blown away by this book. There is so much more to tell, and so much I learned about one mans opinion of an over worked and broken justice system, one he tried to fix himself but almost died in the process. Read this book, but not at night - trust me! It was a fascinating and scary slap into a dark dark world. I loved the book and can't wait for the sequel. What happened to the author after the fact? Please write another one!

I just finished reading this book, and I was hoping there were more titles by Robert Cea. Unfortunately there is only this one. Attn: Mr. Cea, can you hurry up and write another one? Thanks!

The author's writing style makes you feel like you are right there, with him in the car, in the run down bars and in the back alleys of New York City.

I would wholeheartedly recommend this book to anyone who can handle the language and violence. Beyond that what emerges is a book of complete and open honesty. You can see where every step seems to be a logical next step in policing. Let a heroin junkie go to get info on a perp with a gun. Thats a good move. A gun gets people killed, a junkie just kills himself. But a small step like that leads to him being completely intertwined with the mean streets and he ends up paying for it.

No more details than that. Its just too good :)

Buy it! You will not be able to put it down.

On a slightly different note, it shows how cops are the real backbone of our system, and they get dumped on from everyone. Defense attorneys, the media, even citizens groups - all for their own political gain. That really sucks, because a lot of good people probably get crushed by the system, who were just there doing a good job. I hate to think about that, but I am sure its true.

Enjoy !!

I probably rate books a little different than the average person. I rate a book on two things that are very important to me. 1.) Does the book suck me into the characters and hold my attention? Do I want to keep reading or can the next chapter wait until tomorrow? 2.) Does the book take me through the story at a good pace and can I follow the book through no matter what kind of time line the author uses. I hate books that jump around to much and it takes until I am 75% through until the story finally makes sense.
Having said that, I couldn't put this book down. It was a true story of a cop that had to bend the rules to make justice work. I personally think he was way more corrupt than he believed he was but hey, if the author wants to see himself as a good guy, who I am to judge. This cop as are many, was addicted to the excitement of the streets. The uncertainty of the street fueled him every day. It ran through his blood and gave him life. The author takes you with him through the stake outs, arrests and money making of the drug business in NY. Great book I would def recommend it!

What a great recounting of a career spent trying to get true bad guys off the street. It's no wonder Cea butted heads with the desk jockeys on the force.

A must-read for anyone wanting to see what now-Yuppie Brooklyn was like in its former incarnation.

This book is for those who don't understand why cops have to cut corners sometimes to make justice work for all of us. Reading this book, some might think his actions are way over the line. Those of you who come to this conclusion, obviously do NOT live in New York City. There are reasons New Yorkers are the way we are. This city is tough, and sometimes the only way to survive is to be just as tough.
New York City cops understand this better than anyone. I don't like the idea of cops being corrupt and breaking the law trying get justice. Looking at this concept, it doesn't make sense. But when the NYPD are out there on the raw, filthy, dangerous, crim-ridden back roads of this city, those laws don't apply very well.
I will always be on the side of truth and justice and try to apply it in my life whenever possible. However, I have also lived in this city all my life, born and raised on the streets of the Bronx during the 1970's , the worst place and the worst time in the city's history. You learn that justice is very gray, not black and white. Cops know this reality everyday. NYPD cops do the best they can with the situation and circumstances they find themselves in. I applaud cops like Robert Cea who have the guts and the courage to seek out this type of "New York" justice to try and make the streets a little safer for those of us who live here.

As a sworn police officer I always have to wonder, at what point will America get enough of this garbage? Robert Cea, if his account is to be believed, is a criminal. The fact that he did what he did while wearing a police uniform is irrelevant as far as that's concerned. Men like him are a disgrace to all the officers who actually do their job the right way. I'm sick and tired of hearing the excuses. "My pay is low", "The Job doesn't care", "Crime was here before I came on, and it'll be here after I leave" etc. This man is, by his own admission, guilty of perjury, assault, conspiracy and a host of other crimes. He writes about routinely violating the rights of individual citizens, but that's A-Okay because they're bad people and because he includes the obligatory handfull of lines about his struggles with what kind of man he's turning into. You know what? That doesn't cut it. This book isn't about redemption. It's about Robert Cea making money by entertaining people with an account of his criminal behavior and sexual antics. While performing law enforcement duties I have been cursed, attacked with weapons and all the rest. I've never used it as an excuse to line my pockets or lie under oath. As the old saying goes "Adversity does not build character, it reveals it." Robert Cea went to Brooklyn and was faced with a daunting task. In the end his character was revealed and it was non-existant. Don't line the pockets of a corrupt cop. You can find it funny or amusing while you're reading this book in your living room but if you ever got pulled over by a police officer you wouldn't be laughing if it was a man like Robert Cea.

Coming from a family of police officers I thought this would shed some light on what isn't said at the dinner table. As a rookie cop, Robert Cea believed in by-the-book policing...until he was assigned to a bombed-out precinct in East Flatbush, New York. Soon enough he's bribing snitches, brutalizing bad guys, and raising eyebrows at IAB. Yes, this story has been done before, but the book reads like a greatest hits compilation of hard-boiled cop moments. Cea retired as the fifth most decorated officer in NYPD history and just sold the movie rights so read this book before they mess it up on the big screen.

This book is fairly darn good. As an ex policeman myself I understand his dedication to the job. The book also shows the side of him that makes him a human. I think this book is a good read.

What makes No Lights, No Sirens the ultimate cop memoir is the brutal honesty and depth of storytelling by author and former NYC cop Robert Cea. Hold your breath and hold on to something comforting, because Cea is about to pummel you with the anxieties, fears, and and tragedies that made up his tenure as a NYC cop.

This book relates the authors experiences in the N.Y.P.D. from his days as a rookie at the Police Academy thru his early career as a gung ho idealistic officer and then his frustrations dealing with the mopes and low lifes in the toughest parts of Brooklyn. Did he at times step over the line? Well, if so, I'm glad he did. Unfortunately, with crime friendly juries often selected in N.Y.C. sometimes such conduct may be for the greater good of society.